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Shopko to shut additional tri-state area locations

Shopko in Mayville, N.D., is seen in 2016 when it opened. The store is on the closure list. Forum News Service file photo

GREEN BAY, Wis. — A handful of stores in Upper Midwestern states are slated to close after general merchandise retailer Shopko announced it has filed voluntary petitions for financial restructuring under the Chapter 11 bankruptcy code.

An additional 38 stores nationwide will be affected, the retailer said Wednesday, Jan. 16, including five locations each in Minnesota and North Dakota and seven in South Dakota. Sixteen Wisconsin locations, including in the store’s founding location of Green Bay, are also on the closure list of more than 100 locations.

“This decision is a difficult, but necessary one,” Russ Steinhorst, Shopko chief executive officer, said in a news release. “In a challenging retail environment, we have had to make some very tough choices, but we are confident that by operating a smaller and more focused store footprint, we will be able to build a stronger Shopko that will better serve our customers, vendors, employees and other stakeholders through this process.”

The North Dakota locations on the closure list are Rolla, Oakes, Lisbon, Mayville and Beulah, all Shopko Hometown. Minnesota Shopko locations are Rochester and Fairmont, with Shopko Hometown stores in Mahnomen, Warroad and Paynesville.

In South Dakota, two Shopkos in Sioux Falls are on the list, as well as Shopko Hometown stores in Redfield, Wagner, Webster, Dell Rapids and Custer.

Shopko plans to relocate 20 optical centers to freestanding locations and conduct an auction process for its pharmacy business, the release said. It also plans to open additional optical centers this year.

Shopko was operating 126 name-branded stores as well as 234 Shopko Hometown stores in 26 states.

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